Restless Waves

Chapter 42

Michael's nerves were in his throat when he neared the dirt road, leading to Mandy's house. He gripped the steering wheel with sweaty fingers. Mandy was always good at reading his emotions before she changed. Walking to the crooked front door was a build-up Michael didn't enjoy. Talking to Mandy since the curse was like talking to a brick wall. She didn't listen to him; she didn't love him; she didn't care at all. Michael remembered when she did care, and those memories sliced his heart every time they surfaced.

He didn't bother knocking on the door and entered. Michael scarcely dodged a bucket of cold seawater that sloshed through the door and onto the porch. Mandy and two other hunters stood in the doorway with spears. Michael was quickly pinned to the wall with a spear threatening to pierce his skin.

Michael was furious. "Is this how you would've greeted our son?" he growled.

Mandy lowered the spear. "If he was with the fish boy, yeah." She looked him up and down with stranger's eyes. "What're you doing here?"

"Fish boy?" Michael acted like he knew nothing. "To ask why I got a distressed phone call from my son who's scared to go home."

"What did he tell you?"

"That his own mother was hunting him."

"Did he tell you why?"

Michael shook his head.

"We found a Thalassic Freak with legs in this house. We took him to the base on the edge of town. I didn't go because I wasn't sleep deprived enough, but I was told that Rowan went in the middle of the night, claiming that he was soulmates with the sea creature. Now, of all the things he has done to annoy me, this is on another level. I'm so angry." Mandy scraped her blonde hair into a tight ponytail. "He took out half of the hunters there. At least he didn't humiliate me by getting caught."

Michael shook his head. He found it hard to believe that he was once in love with her, but he found it even harder to believe the memories of Mandy when she had a beautiful soul. "What are you going to do?"

"Wait here until he turns up because I know he will. Then I don't really know what I'll do." Mandy narrowed her eyes. "If he goes to yours, will you keep him there and let me know?"

Michael scoffed. "Like I'd let you anywhere near him. What if he's telling the truth about this soulmate stuff?"

"He's not," Mandy said with a scowl. "You think that fish boy with legs is a Royal?"

Michael's heart punctured, as usual. You're the Royal. Please, just remember me. Michael pushed the spear away when Mandy tried to jab him in the arm. "I don't know what I think, but Rowan has gone out of his way to rescue the Thalassic Mortal. If he does come home, you need to listen to him, and if he does turn up at mine, you need to come without your hunters and speak to him as his mother, not as his trainer or the leader of the hunters, or someone who despises sea creatures. You need to be his mother."

Mandy muttered something under her breath. "The Thalassic Mortal who broke into our house was a male. Rowan's obviously not his soulmate."

Michael shook his head. "Can you stop pretending like you know everything about our son?" The curse always made him angry when around Mandy. They were destined to argue forever.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Michael almost yelled that their son was gay, so of course, he would have a male soulmate, but he bit his tongue. Rowan hadn't told her for a reason, and Michael was sure she would not be supportive. "If he turns up here, don't you dare hurt him."

"I wouldn't hurt him," Mandy said, stepping back and twisting the spear around. "It's quite insulting that you think I would."

"Maybe you should think about the way you treat him then." Michael peeled himself off the wall. "I'm going. I might let you know if he turns up at mine. Don't bother sending your hunters to watch my house." Michael left, feeling the anger rise. If he stayed, he predicted that a screaming match was just around the corner.